Ataraxia
by ShinkuXJun
Summary: Christa Lenz is an average merchant who has a life-changing encounter with fate when she finds a strange object on the floor of her shop. Soon, her life will be turned upside down by a young woman she meets by the name of Ymir. Yumikuri. Medieval AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Soooo I realized that I haven't posted anything since, like, 2013... And I kind of fell off the Earth after that. I really want to get back into writing on here since I've honestly just been reading other people's stuff all these years and not putting anything up myself, so I decided I'd actually whip something new up and get back on here! (Also I don't ever plan on getting back to my old stuff considering how much I believe my writing has changed.) This will be a series, not sure how long, but I'd like to keep it running as long as possible. I honestly don't plan on abandoning this, and I will definitely say something if I'm ending it. This is gonna be a Yumikuri fic and will bet set in a medieval times kinda AU with appearances from many other characters of SNK. So, without further ado, here's the first chapter c:

I saw men and women of all kinds coming in and out of the famous city of Trost, where I lived and worked, but none were as strange as the man in front of me. The look on his face was quite belittling for such a short gentleman and despite his size, the muscular build he had could easily be responsible for many an injury. Even his somber eyes felt intimidating, making me feel as if I had something to hide... even though I certainly didn't. As a simple merchant and craftswoman, I had not committed any sort of crime that should lead a man with that kind of look on his face into my shop... which was more like a messy wooden booth than an actual structure. This man's gloomy eye was twitching fiercely, and I noticed that every few seconds he appeared as if he were about to mutter something, but stopped himself. The disgusted look on his face was increasingly prevalent, "Sir?" I tried to awaken him from his nearly motionless state, but he remained without even a modicum of any other emotion besides pure frustration. Was I in trouble for something? This wasn't good, the man in front of my wares was the one I recognized as none other than the monarchy's personal blacksmith, Levi Ackerman.

I wanted to ask what was troubling Mr. Ackerman, but I figured it may not have been the best idea. The chance of angering him further was too great of a risk to take, and his eyes spelled "Don't talk to me". Either way, the silence was getting too weird. I had to say something... "How may I help you?" I said this more like I was asking myself than Levi, but finally the question managed to break him from his preoccupation.

Still looking vexed, the man rose his arm to reveal a poorly done drawing of a young man. Considering how bad the artwork was, it was amazing that I could actually tell what exactly it was. The only feature that was distinguishable, really, was the fact that the depicted man barely had any hair. That was about all I could tell from the picture. Levi glared at me, "Christa Lenz, right?"

"Um, yes. That's correct," I replied timidly.

Why was he here? I had never even visited the castle before, where he worked, or even where he lived. His scowl told me my question was about to recieve an answered, "Has this man ever bought anything from you?" 

Even if he had, there would have been no way I could tell that by the drawing. There were probably about a million people that had come by to see my wares that resembled that in some way. I assumed that Levi had sketched it himself, so I had to be nice about it. Realistically, though, it wasn't detailed enough for me to be able to pull out any sort of conclusion to his inquiry. I tried to grin at him despite my myriad of fears that he was about to explode in anger, "Sorry. I don't think I've seen anyone like that lately. I'll let you know if I see him." He simply scoffed at me with equivalent irateness of a father glaring down at his poorly behaved child and glanced around at the back of my stall where I kept most of my supplies.

"Clean it up," He muttered under gritted teeth as he walked off to another merchant. For a second, I simply stood in silence. Never before had a visitor told me to clean up my shop. Perhaps he was right, though... The back was getting a little messy. I wanted to apologize for the unsightly image of my extra goods, but he was already gone. Quietly, I began to tidy up. My first order of business was to organize each product into the box or barrel it belonged in. This process was a lot longer than I'd expected as none of the boxes had been labeled even though I asked Sasha, my apprentice, to do it months ago. Looks like she never got around to it. I decided that I had some time on my hands, no customers were showing up, so I began to carefully mark each container after I was finished organizing.

When I finally set my tools down, something glimmering in the corner caught my eye. I sighed, must have missed another jewel. But as I drew closer I knew that this was not a gem... it was a tooth, and a sharp one at that. I didn't sell the merchandise of a huntsman, that was the job of the Jaegers on the other side of the city marketplace. Perhaps it belonged to them. Carla Jaeger bought from me often, it wasn't unlikely that she'd accidentally left it here... but there was something peculiar about the fang. I was no expert in beasts, but never in my life had I seen a tooth that looked like the one in my hand. The tip of it almost naturally twisted before it came to a point, and it didn't appear carved. Balling my hand into a fist and dusting off my dress, I began to make my way out of the back of the shop. I needed to give the tooth to the Jaegers, surely they would appreciate the likely valuable item being returned.

By the time I arrived at the Hunter and the Beast, which was the small shop belonging to Eren, Grisha, and Carla Jaeger, the sun had already set and their stand had closed. To reach them I would have to instead go to their residence, which wasn't too far away. The Jaeger family were friendly folk, if a bit presumptuous. Even so, it was always nice to visit their home. Grisha was often away, but his presence was still strong within their household. The boy and mother talked of him like he was some sort of legend, which was understandable due to his many achievements. The Jaeger household was always jovial, and had a deep connection with one another. It was refreshing to see a family who cared for each other so much.

The streets were nearly empty at this time of evening, I could barely see a soul aside from a couple of town guardsmen. It was peaceful out, and the weather was perfect. A soft breeze came by every few seconds and tossed a few dead leaves around. Winter was coming, which would normally mean less customers because of harsher weather, but Trost was not a normal city. Here, rain or shine, there would always be people out in the daytime. The people of Trost _loved_ the snow, and they sort of had to because of how commonplace it was. Come wintertime, there would be heavy snow nearly every day until summer. Spring didn't exist here, it was always blocked out by blizzards. Most would avoid extreme weather, but Trost embraces it. As I walked I wondered if snow would arrive soon. It felt cold enough to snow, but according to the chatting nobles that came around merchant's quarter, it wasn't quite cold enough yet. I wondered if they really knew what they were talking about.

 _Click, click, click, click_. The sound of someone running in thick winter boots rang in my ears. It started getting louder, breaking the ataraxis I felt a few moments ago. I didn't bother to turn around, it was probably just a child running home. But the clicking noise soon engendered a suspicion in my mind... those were the footsteps of someone older, definitely too heavy for a child. Before I could react, a tug on my fist caused me to lose my balance. For a second I stumbled until I regained my composure, unsure of what just happened. It didn't take too long for me to realize that the tooth was missing. That clicking was the sound of a thief.

"Hey!" I tried to yell, but it came out as more of a whimper than anything else. I was too late anyway, the sound was gone and it was far too dark already to see where the culprit went. The only source of light were a few torches placed around the road, which didn't provide enough light for me to see any further than right next to me. I didn't even get so much as a glance at them before they escaped. I figured I was just lucky to be alive, but the frustration quickly set in as I remembered how potentially valuable that tooth was, and it must have been if someone wanted that badly to take it. The poor Jaegers had probably just lost a lot of money, all because I was too stupid to turn around.

"Mrs. Jaeger, it's all my fault... I'm really sorry that happened. I should pay better attention. But don't worry, I went to the sheriff immediately and he said they'll do their best to catch whoever stole it." Carla stared at me for a long time before stifling a laugh. Confused, I stuttered, "A-are you mad? I-I'm really, r-really sorry."

The woman simply shrugged and sat down in her chair, facing me. Her expression was calm and somewhat amused, like nothing I would have expected. Her midnight hair shook as she chuckled. It was definitely not the look of someone who just had a mound of gold stolen from them, "Christa, that fang most certainly did not belong to us. In fact, I've never even heard of the type of tooth you described. Are you sure it wasn't artificial?" I nodded, "Well, I feel sorry for whoever it belonged to, but you don't need to worry about a thing. I'm positive it wasn't mine. But if the guards happen to find it, would you bring it to me just so I can take a look at it?"

"Of course! No problem." I grinned, feeling relieved that I hadn't let anyone down. Still, curiosity led me to wonder what exactly that tooth was and how exactly it had gotten in my shop. It hadn't been there a couple of days ago, so how did it suddenly appear this afternoon?

I said goodbye to Mrs. Jaeger and her son, Eren, and headed straight home. The dark wind had grown more powerful now, as it usually did during the nighttime. With the air brushing against my palm, I recalled the forceful tug I'd felt as the burgular brushed past me. This time I was incredibly cautious, thieves could be everywhere as far as I knew. Each little rustle, every small creaking noise I heard had me spinning around, searching for a source of suspicion. Luckily, I got home without another encounter. My mind was still reeling when I entered the door of the cottage, who was that person and why did they take the tooth? How important was it? It must have been worth a lot. No one came around the back of my shop besides me and Sasha, and I was almost positive that Sasha didn't have a trinket like that. I needed answers, and there was no way I was going to sleep without them.

 _ **But there was one problem.**_

At this time of night, citizens weren't supposed to be roaming around outside unless they had official business. I didn't exactly have a good excuse... but I didn't need one if I didn't get caught.

No.

"You're a good girl, Christa. There's no way you could sneak around at this time of night. The guilt would be impossible to deal with." My wooden chair creaked as I set myself back down, convinced that such an adventure was impossible. Maybe I would just have to wait... but although I was a good girl, that didn't mean I was a patient one. Every muscle and joint in my body wanted to spring up at the same time, put on my cloak and sprint out the door. My fingers twitched vigorously, expressing their need to find out more. This mystery, it was undeniably filled with unparagoned excitement. In my boring old life as a broker, sadly enough, this was one of the more interesting moments of my career. That felt depressing somehow, but I needn't digress! Either way, I felt jittery just thinking about the word, adventure. Oh how foolish I was, something had been stolen! This wasn't something to be excited about... A subtle throb of fear reached me. Perhaps there was someone after me, after my valuables? I wasn't a materialistic person, but the thought of going out of business because of a thievery problem wasn't a most pleasant one.

In my mind I declared that once the sun's rays reached me once again, I would notify the other merchants in town of the issue and see if anyone else has come across the same lithe figure scampering about when the moon appears.

That was my plan, until a heavy pounding collided with the old timber wood of my door, causing my fear to resurface.


	2. Chapter 2

Heart pounding, eyes widening, I paused all movement until the repeated ringing of that pounding ceased in my ears. I was bewildered. Who would be at my door in the middle of the night? Nobody, that's who. I couldn't come up with any sort of hypothesis besides that it was the thief returning to pocket all of my belongings... and perhaps my life as well.

Ok, Christa, you're jumping to ridiculous conclusions. It was probably just a clumsy guardsmen who'd tripped in the darkness and accidentally fallen on my cottage. Or maybe I'd left something of mine back at the Jeagers' and they arrived to return it to me. These scenarios didn't help to placate my nerves, I still very much felt on edge. Should I open the door or act like nobody was home? Oh, come on, they wouldn't be foolish enough to believe I was out on the town at midnight! I was mortified by the thought of opening the door to reveal an armed robber, but I convinced myself that either way they would probably break down the door. It was important for me to be brave, it was doubtful that the same thief from before was on the other side anyway. Just in case, though, I gripped the nearest object I found; a broomstick.

Cautiously and nervously, my feet brushed against the wooden floor, not picking up at all. My legs were too stiff to properly function... how did I expect to be able to fight this potential burgler? Mentally I wasn't in a very good combat state either. Well, if today was to be my dying day, then I figured that was unavoidable. Here goes nothing.

With all the courage I had, I managed to slide my palm over the old gnarled doorknob. It took me a few seconds, but eventually I took a deep breath and pulled myself into the unknown. The door swung open, fully revealing my vulnerability to whoever it was that felt the need to attempt to bust open my door in the middle of sleeping hours. I was totally unprepared, my grip on my "weapon" had weakened as I twisted the knob and my eyes were still focused on something other than the person in front of me. If they attempted an attack on me, I would be dead by now.

I saw her, and she was not who I'd expected. No, this girl was far less threatening. Messy hair, covered in food crumbs, the appearance of a maniac, but only when she craved potatoes. This was Sasha Braus, my eccentric, bread-loving apprentice. Ok, so maybe I was sort of right. This girl was here to steal from me, my food, that is. I still couldn't help the immediate wave of relief that came over me as soon as I saw her face, "Sasha." I grinned widely at her.

"GODDESS." The girl invited herself in, shut the door, and immediately dove for the kitchen. She knew I wouldn't mind and soon enough she had a few loaves of bread in her arms. I set the broomstick back where it belonged and waited for her to say whatever she was so frantic about. Yes, the girl was food-obsessed, but surely that wasn't the only thing making her jittery. I could tell something was wrong.

"Sasha, what brings you here so late at night?" I laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, showing her that she was certainly welcome here at any hour. Although, surely we were both aware that she wouldn't make herself at home in the middle of the night without a reason. Despite having an apprenticeship in the city, Sasha's lived in the forest just outside the sturdy walls of Trost. Her sudden arrival was sporadic, surely, but couldn't be unjustified. After all, it must have taken her a great deal of courage to travel in the nighttime through the woods just to get here. There were bears, beasts, and thieves, of course. The creatures of the darkness were without mercy.

"At my door..." She shivered, uttering the words, "was someone real mysterious..." She pointed to the creaky door of my home as if it were her own, and quietly whimpered, "I ought to move, but I've been living in those woods for too long to just get up an' leave."

"What exactly happened?" I asked for clarification as I tried to placate her with a potato from my garden. She snatched it, staring at it admiringly before stuffing it in her satchel and loudly declaring her gratitude.

Eventually, her frantic demeanor evolved into a more solemn one as her expression became darker. I could sense fear in her heart, but she was trying to hide it. A facade decorated her face, one that displayed a dauntless attitude, albeit grim and solemn, "He was a knight, but ghostly. He looked almost like he was from a whole other world." She clenched her fists tightly in response to the recollection, "I didn't know what to do so I just kind of stood there until he dropped this at my door,"

I couldn't believe my eyes. Sasha searched her pockets for a brief moment before pulling out a string, and attatched to that string was almost a perfect replica of the stolen fang I'd found in my shop earlier. The difference was merely the string and a few markings engraved into the familiar object. Without warning, I leaped up and snatched it from her shaking hands. I had to inspect it closer. It certainly wasn't the same one as before, but either way, it was a clue in the mystery, "You say he just left this here?" I questioned franticly. Sasha nodded a few times. Sensing my excitement, she nervously cocked her head to the side with a slightly anxious expression.

"Do you know something about this thing?" The brunette pointed a finger at the object in question. I wasn't sure if I had time to explain the fiasco, the birds outside were already crying. Morning was on its way and I was sure neither of us had gotten any proper sleep. I didn't want to be rude to my apprentice, but it was in the best interest of both of us that we get some rest.

"I can explain another time," I looked at her apologetically, "for now, why don't you stay here for the night?"

"Really? I don't wanna bother you..."

"It's perfectly fine! I have an extra bed and I'm sure you're feeling a bit nervous about staying in your own home. I would be too with these random strangers walking about. Did you ever see this knight before today?" I chatted as I prepared her bed. It wasn't the most luxurious thing, but then again, it was probably less rickety than the bed she owned. Neither of us were rich, that was for sure, but Sasha remained far poorer than I. I felt guilty that I wasn't able to pay her what she deserved, but money was tight for me as well. I provided her with what little money I could garner from selling my cheap wares.

"No, never," She assured. Then what could he possibly want from her? The situation puzzled me and I felt increasingly frustrated.

Now was not the time to worry myself with it, I decided, "Well, let's not make ourselves paranoid before bed." I quickly scampered to the other side of the room where my blankets were located, "Goodnight."

"G-Goodnight." Sasha was clearly still spooked about the incident, but nothing could be done about it until morning. Perhaps I would report it to the lookouts, but then again, they might think I'm simply crying wolf.

These thoughts plagued me until I finally drifted off, but by the time that happened, it was likely that the sun had already risen.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shortly after my cursory breakfast, I whisked Sasha away to the guardsmen to tell her tale again and headed out myself. I had an idea, and I was confident that it would lead me somewhere. Something told me that the odd events happening to Sasha and I were not normal circumstances. Perhaps these circumstances were like the age-old stories of tricky demons and thieving goblins. There was something at work here that just wasn't natural, and I was about to find out what that thing was. Hidden away in a shadowy corner of the market district was the hut I was looking for, the fortune-teller's booth. It appeared ragged, old, and the fabric holding it up was cut up like a lion had been dancing on top of it. There was barely any wood foundation, just a couple of measly poles holding up the colorful rags. Due to the unpleasant nature of the structure, the person inside could hardly be noticed. It was a man, well, more like a boy or a young man. A hat nearly matching the tarp of his hut adorned his head, completely covering half of his face including his eyes. This made it difficult to point out any particular facial features of his.

The sheer strangeness of this young man seemed to warn me away from his shop... but at the same time I felt sort of sorry for him. He sat quietly, patiently waiting for the customers that weren't showing up. This corner of the marketplace was practically empty aside from the few streetsweepers that arrived every couple of hours. The poor guy probably had no business. I took a reluctant step towards the torn-up booth. He seemed to notice, and the visible portion of his face lit up in excitement, although he likely couldn't see me, the sound of my single footstep reverberated through the underpopulated section of town we stood in. The fortune-teller's head tilted forward in my direction as if he could catch a glimpse of me; however, his embellished cap thoroughly prevented that. A took a few more steps, and the now reassured young man sat down on a small pillow he'd set up behind his wooden table, preparing to address me.

"Hello..." I started, slightly unsure of what to say, "you're a fortune-teller, is that right?" I knew it was a dumb question, but I was lost for words.

"That I am." He set a hand on the table and pointed to a second pillow on the other side of the surface. Silently, I sat down, "60 copper pieces and I'll answer any questions you desire."

Only 60? That was cheap for a fortune teller. Bewildered, I grabbed my coinpurse and pulled out a silver piece instead, "Keep the change." It was too much trouble to rummage for 60 copper. I was sure I had it, but what I lacked was time, and I wanted to find answers as soon as possible.

He didn't thank me, the boy simply snatched the coins and shoved it in a small bag to his side, "What do you want to know? Wait! Let me guess so I can prove my psychic abilities to you!" His face showed childish excitement as he jumped up energetically. His lively spirit likely derived a lack of customers until I showed up. I allowed him to guess what was on my mind, "Strange omens have been appearing before you... I'm seeing dark signs approaching those close to you as well," He must have been talking about Sasha, I thought, "You want to know what these things mean. That is why you've come here today!" He seemed a little too proud of himself, but I had to admit, I was amazed at his skill.

"Wow, you actually guessed perfectly. You're amazing!"

"Heh. Maybe I should just quit my other job and do this full time..." he mumbled, "anyways, I have the answer to all of your qualms!" He pointed a finger at a nearby shop, a rather large one at that. I recognized this to be the weavers' workplace as well as where they sold their materials, "This is where you will find what you need. Now, I have other customers waiting. Be gone!" Forming a line behind me was Sasha... I glanced at her for a second.

"Sasha... what are you doing here?" I asked, standing up slowly.

"I wanted to ask about what I saw last night," she said, looking jittery. She seemed to still fear the being that appeared that night in front of her door. I couldn't blame her.

"I asked about the same thing, this man's given me the answer," I waved a hand towards him and curtseyed in thanks. Though, I realized he couldn't see me, so I voiced my thank-you instead, "Thank you kind sir. We'll be off now!" I guided Sasha in the direction of the weaving shop.

"W-Wait, don't take my customer!" I heard him shout in the distance. Realizing what I'd done, I backtracked and placed another silver coin on his table. I had enough to spare. With that, we were off to the workplace of the weavers. I wasn't sure what I would find in such a place, but I knew I would know it when I saw it.

The two of us reached the business within a few minutes, as it wasn't very far from the fortune-teller's corner and I'd been to the weavers' countless times. What I wasn't expecting was a wooden sign in front of the door displaying "CLOSED" in bold black ink, "Closed? At this time of day?" I sighed, this was hopeless.

Just as I was about to give up, the door creaked open strangely. Maybe they had forgotten to take their closed sign off the door this morning? A young man was carefully sliding the door open, looking unsure of himself. I had never seen him before in all of the times I'd been to the business, so this was an incredibly odd experience. He had a large frown on his face, but he seemed to beckon me inside. Like the fool I was, I took up his offer. The boy's brown hair went down about to his mid-neck. His green eyes looked angrily at me, and his voice, nearly yelling, said "Come in!" Nervously, I nodded and stepped through the door. The next thing I remember is the feeling of another person on top of me, my hands tied behind my back, and the hard stone floor.

"Hey."

My cheeks burned as if they'd been cut and filled with salt. The pain shot my eyes open in painful recollection, I had been knocked out by the assailants at the weavers' shop. I was clever enough to realize at that I'd been set up somehow by the fortune teller, and in some way all of this must have been connected with the tooth incident, the thief, and the fortune teller of course.

I was still being lightly slapped once my eyes were fully unsealed. There was no surprise in who I saw in front of me, that fortune teller was there with a friend of his, the one who was hitting me and demanding my consciousness. This woman was just as ragged looking as her counterpart, her clothing was desperate for mending and her freckled face was scarred beyond repair. She must have been a real warrior, or criminal, for that matter. These people were my kidnappers.


End file.
